


Three Sided War

by shorimochi



Category: Magic Kaito, 名探偵コナン | Detective Conan | Case Closed
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-20
Updated: 2019-03-21
Packaged: 2019-11-26 03:16:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 9,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18175133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shorimochi/pseuds/shorimochi
Summary: Hattori Heiji's plan to visit Tokyo during summer vacation did not include meeting Kudo's doppelganger, a possibly new member of the Black Organisation, the British detective that pissed him so much, and indirectly getting involved with the FBI.Conan's aim has never changed from the beginning - to find cure to his body and eliminate the Black Org.But Kaito's goals have now changed. He now has to choose to either plunge himself completely into the dark side or let go of his father's legacy.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is one of those poor ideas that comes when you're supposed to be working. I apologise in advance, also for the terrible summary and title.

THURSDAY, 9.34 PM  
T UNIVERSITY  
FACULTY OF SCIENCE, Chemistry Laboratory 3

A blonde beauty smirked as she finally found her way to her intended destination. It took quite some time to investigate her target but a lot less time to infiltrate the building. In fact, there was hardly any trouble getting to the laboratory undetected. The only problem she had was to sneak in her two friends to the place. They were not exactly the type to not stand out even without doing anything so she had to spend some time observing their target's daily schedule to find the perfect time to approach him.  
Now would be the time. The campus building was almost empty and the target was alone. One security guard was doing his round in the next building while the other had dozed off.

The door was unlocked and just as she expected the target was currently sitting in front of the computer, alone in the laboratory. There were papers stacked neatly on top the desk. Racks of test tubes filled with liquids were arranged neatly, with each tube labelled accordingly. Just like her source had mentioned the target was very neat and almost obsessed with cleanliness.

Their target was a young man in his early twenties. He had jet black hair that contrasted his pale skin - a sign of his preference for indoor activities from the lack of sunlight exposure. His white coat was clean, although the sleeves were stained various colours that could not be rid off. Unlike most of his young peers who liked to dress fashionably, he had opted for simple and dull coloured shirt and worn out jeans.

The young man turned around and faced them calmly as if he had expected them, although the slight surprise in his heterochromatic eyes told them otherwise. The blonde beauty pointed her gun towards him but the young man simply raised an eyebrow as he lifted a thumb drive that was originally on the desk.

"I assume you are here for this?" He asked. "You are not the first who ask."

She smirked.

"There are flammables in this laboratory. I can set this place on fire and bring you guys and my research data with me to the other world," he said, not caring that he might be shot before that even happened.

As if to make their point the blonde woman's friend also pointed his gun towards the unfazed young man.

"The data is coded anyway," the young man added.

The blonde laughed. "For someone who acts like he doesn't care you are actually reluctant to die."

"My life dedication is being stolen by people I don't know," he replied with a click of tongue. "I'd rather burn everything to ash."

"That's unfortunate. You know we could still get the data. You may want to hand them willingly if you want your family to be safe."

The young man frowned. "Seems like you have failed to do your research. I don't have a family. Not anymore."

"Your relatives are still alive."

".... So?"

"How cold."

"It seems our deal is done here. Either get out peacefully or-"

"The one who took your family away..."

The young man froze. The blonde beauty smirked. How innocent, he was so easily baited. "We can annihilate them if you desire it."

The young man scowled and shook his head.

"You think you can eliminate Jungles? Bring me the proof before you can talk."


	2. First Encounter

FRIDAY, 4.02PM  
TOKYO

 

"It should be here!"

"Well it's not you idiot! Hand me the map!"

"I asked the policeman already!"

"Damn it, why do we have to look for this stupid bakery? Like they don't have cake mix in Osaka!"

"Well, this particular cake mix is only available in this bakery! Besides, your mom wants to have a taste too!"

Heiji did not hate his childhood friend. On the contrary he was rather fond of her but gosh, her stubbornness could be so irritating at times. Then again he too was as stubborn as a donkey himself and could not help but to argue with her, though most of the time he eventually gave in whenever she looked like she was about to pull one of her champion judo moves on him. Getting bruised by Kazuha was not part of his summer vacation plan.

After twenty minutes of searching Heiji decided to give up his pride in favour of resting his poor legs and made a phone call to his shrunken detective friend. To his horror Shinichi informed him that the bakery they were looking for had been out of business for a couple of days already due to the passing of the owner. It was unknown when the family would stop grieving. Heiji doubted it would be so soon. The place had been operating for almost fourty years and the same old man, the deceased owner had been the one to make the special coffee blend and cake mixes all these years.

"You're out of luck," Conan added as Heiji finished telling a disappointed Kazuha of the bad news.

"You can always try the new cafe opening in the neighbouring town," Heiji heard Ran's voice on the other side this time. "Why don't we meet there?"

"Got it," Heiji agreed. 

They found the cafe Ran suggested - this time, a lot more easily. It was a small, quiet cafe but the cakes and coffee were good. Heiji found the contrast between the classic Japanese interior design and the English tea cups and porcelains interesting. The café's manager was just as friendly as he appeared to be. Most of the customers inside were old folks and young ladies but the Osakan detective found he quite liked it there.

"Like I said, I'm not going!"

Heiji's shoulders twitched a little upon hearing the loud exclamation. Even Kazuha stopped talking. He turned around to see the source of the loud voice. The table behind them was unoccupied, but the following one was occupied by a couple of high school students wearing the standard black gakuran and sailor uniform. The teen boy in gakuran had messy, dark brown hair - almost black, while the girl too had the same shade of hair, but lighter.

"You meanie! You said once you got your bike license, you'd bring Aoko to wherever Aoko requests!"

"Haven't I told you I'll be busy this weekend?"

"Exams are over! What will you be doing anyway?"

"Tee hee...that's a secret. Anyways, why don't you go and ask Keiko-chan or your dad? Have some girls' bonding time or father-daughter day or something?"

"Keiko is going for a family trip this weekend. Dad will be working. That idiot thief sent a notice last night."

The teen boy almost choked. He coughed. "A heist notice? Kaitou Kid? Are you sure... I mean, why hasn't it been released on the news yet?"

The girl shrugged. "I don't know. It seems like the cops are doubting the authenticity of the notice. At least, Hakuba-kun is. He said it's different from what Kid usually sent."

"Um, excuse me," Heiji could not help but to butt in. "We just happen to overhear your conversation. How do you know confidential and unreleased stuff like that?"

The girl blinked and stared at him while the teen boy finally turned around to face them. Heiji could not believe his eyes.

"Kudo?!" He exclaimed loudly.

The two tables around them glared at Heiji, then at the Kudo-lookalike. The teen instantly blushed and quietly apologised to the other customers for ruining the café's nice, pleasant atmosphere. Heiji gulped as the guy sitting at the table next to him looked particularly...displeased. He had a laptop on and a half-eaten cake. He was probably trying to do his work quietly.

Needless to say, Kudo's long lost twin did not look happy too. But Heiji could not help it. Save for his messier and lighter-colored hair, the teen was an exact copy of his good friend. Or to be more precise, the carbon copy of his real, seventeen-year-old self. If Heiji hadn't known better, he'd think that the boy was Kudo out cheating on Ran with another girl.

"Gee, thanks random stranger. I've always loved being the center of attention."

Apparently this guy's tongue was just as sharp as the Eastern teen detective too.

"Kaito! That's rude," Aoko shushed him. "Sorry about him. I am Nakamori Aoko."

Kazuha nodded. "We apologise well. I'm Touyama Kazuha. My friend, Hattori Heiji here is just surprised because your friend looks exactly like our good friend, Kudo-kun."

Trust Kazuha to be more diplomatic than Heiji. Heiji recalled the name Nakamori. Wasn't that the grumpy police officer in charge of Kaitou Kid's case? He hasn't been successful so far but his temper and pinching power was a real thing. No wonder the girl knew details about an unbroadcasted notice.

The teen boy, Kaito snorted. "Well then, we should probably leave now, Aoko."

"Huh, why?"

"Don't you know that if you meet your doppelganger, one of them will die?"

Aoko scowled. "You know you don't believe in those things. But I guess we do need to go now, Dad is surveying the museum and I want to bring back the bento and roll cake for him."

"It's your luck, this great one will lend you a hand and carry the stuff so let's go," Kaito concluded as he got up. He threw a brief glance to Heiji before leaving. "Nice to meet ya, tantei-han."

Heiji frowned. "... Did I ever tell that guy who I am?"

"I did," Kazuha said.

"Yeah, but you didn't say I am a detective."

"Well, you might be more famous than you thought, Heiji! Isn't that a nice thing?" She beamed.

It would be nice if that was the case. However, not even Kudo or Ran knew about him despite their frequent involvement and connections to the police force and homicide cases. Teen detectives like him and Kudo were famous but only among the police force and crime-mystery enthusiasts.

Or maybe he really was getting more popular, Heiji thought while grinning stupidly. 

The man sitting at the table beside them rushingly packed his bags and left a few thousand yen notes on the table while curtly informing the waiter to keep the change. Heiji rolled his eyes as he took upon the half finished coffee and cake. What a waste. The roll cake was pretty good. Must be an urgent business.

His eyes trailed as the man's figure slowly disappeared into a car, that had been waiting outside the cafe. The car sped off and Heiji gasped as his eyes captured the image of two people he remembered too well despite the almost non-existent encounter.

"Shit!" He cursed as he rushed outside. The car had taken off and right there, as if fate was mocking them, Conan and Ran had just arrived.

"You stupid idiot!" Heiji yelled.

The two Tokyo natives were visibly disturbed by his rude, unexpected greeting.

"What's wrong, Hattori-kun? Sorry we are late, but..." Ran muttered.

"No, not that!" Heiji panicked and immediately pulled Conan closer as he whispered to his ear, "Those guys were here. The guys in black."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case anyone noticed, the cafe is based on the cafe from Rokuhoudou, a super good slice-of-life anime about food and people. Give it a try!


	3. First Incident

FRIDAY, 6.30PM  
TOKYO  
Beika, Mouri Kogoro's House

 

"....."

"....."

"Dammit, say something Kudo."

The sound of Kogoro yelling at the television was all Heiji could hear. Over the kitchen Kazuha and Ran were chatting as well but his mind could hardly pick up a word from the girls' conversation. In fact, his mind was still largely occupied by the black Porsche that he could hardly focus on other things.

"Are you hundred percent sure?" Conan finally whispered back after glancing behind to make sure both Ran and Kazuha were still at the kitchen preparing dinner.

"I was 98% sure then. Once you confirmed the plate number with me, I am now 120% sure."

Conan scratched his head and groaned. It sucked that they were a tad too late to the meeting place. He knew that one second could make a lot of difference in many situations, but this was one he did not expect. Luckily Heiji had good enough memory to remember the man's face. Unfortunately it wasn't Conan sitting there, or he could have tossed one of Agasa's listening or tracking device at the car.

"Tell me about this guy."

"Well...he's probably in his early twenties, judging by his face. Average height. Black hair, wears dark jeans and black hoodie. Wears glasses and black hat. He's pretty lean and his skin is pretty white, like he hasn't seen the sunlight for years."

Conan frowned. "Doesn't seem like an Org member, from what you described."

Heiji shrugged. "Well, nobody would assume a guy who looks like an average college student to be a criminal. He's got a laptop with him and seemed to be working on something urgent but I didn't get to see it."

"Damn it. That could have been something related to the organisation," Conan sighed.

"Yeah, if only your legs aren't so short you were fifteen minutes late..."

"Shut up."

 

***

FRIDAY, 6.05PM  
TOKYO  
S Museum, East Wing

Damn the guy who sent that fake notice, Kaito cursed silently as he surveyed the museum. Now he had to sacrifice his plan for his chick-flick marathon (his guilty pleasure) and plan a way to expose this bastard instead. To add to the annoyance the bastard Hakuba was there to scan through the parameter as well. Che.

"Worried some imposter might sully your name, Kuroba-kun?" Saguru asked as they both headed to the second floor.

Kaito raised an eyebrow. "Just what do you mean?"

But man, the impostor really picked a nice and easy place to infiltrate, the young magician thought. There were at least five windows and three balconies Kaito could use to get in unnoticed and four buildings he could use to take off from his glider. However, none of the items displayed here had piqued his interest yet so far.

"You know what I mean."

"No I do not," Kaito insisted. He huffed. "Will you stop following me? Can't a guy even look for the bathroom in peace?" 

"You mean look for escape route? The bathroom is over there, in case you pretend to not notice it," Saguru pointed.

"Alright, enough - "

It all happened within a split second. First, he heard the window glass broke. Next, he heard Saguru screamed at him. It was his instinct and possibly luck that saved him from what that could have been his end.

Kaito felt pain. His knees were on the floor, and the pain intensified as he tried to get up. As he opened his eyes the first thing he saw was shattered glass stained with drops of blood.

"Don't, Kuroba. You're bleeding," he heard Saguru's voice.

Kaito winced and hissed. It took his mind a few seconds to finally process and realised that he had just been shot. Somebody, in daylight, had freaking shot him while he was in a public place surrounded by cops and a detective. The bullet was embedded inside his left shoulder, although it had fortunately not hit any vital organ, since he was still alive and...well, not feeling so bad. He lifted his head slightly. Shards of the broken glass had hit Saguru's face as well and the phantom thief suddenly felt guilty.

Aoko came screaming, followed by Nakamori and his subordinates. Kaito was wheeled on a stretcher to the ambulance while Saguru received immediate treatment. Kaito scowled.

It appeared that the heist - whether the impostor liked it or not, would have to be canceled.


	4. Second Encounter

SATURDAY, 6.20PM  
TOKYO  
Mouri Kogoro's House

 

"Shinichi....shot?!"

Conan and Heiji almost choked on their dinner upon hearing that word came out of Ran's mouth, followed by a string of curses from Kogoro and Kazuha who were at the receiving end of their half chewed rice. The boys stared at Ran with wide eyes. She had gotten up to answer the phone call from Sonoko and hearing his real name suddenly mentioned made breathing normally difficult for Conan.

"Hm, yes Sonoko, you are always right, when have you been wrong?" Ran sighed. "I mean, it's not like Shinichi has the most unique facial features in the world, so I'm not surprised if he has a lookalike or two. Kazuha-chan told me she saw someone who looked like Shinichi yesterday, so I'm not going to be surprised anymore after all the lookalikes... I'm more concerned about the shooting case. Should I talk to my dad? I'm sure he can help. Okay, we'll be there tomorrow. Bye," Ran ended the phone call and returned to the dinner table to be met with four pairs of curious eyes.

"Shot? Who got shot?" Heiji wasted no time to ask. "And why the mention of Kudo's name?"

Ran sighed. "There is supposed to be an exhibition at the museum belonging to Sonoko's family. The police went to inspect the museum since they received a Kaitou Kid heist notice but...a relative of Inspector Nakamori who happened to be there got shot. He's alive, but needs to be hospitalised."

Kazuha gasped. "Seriously? Even though the police are there?"

Ran nodded. "They still don't know who the culprit is, or why the boy was shot. They suspect it's either someone grudging on Inspector Nakamori, or the teen detective Hakuba Saguru-kun, since Hakuba-kun happens to be standing close to the victim when he was shot. Anyway, Sonoko and her butler went to see the boy on behalf of Suzuki Group as soon as they got the call and she kept yelling at me through the phone, telling me to come, because the boy happens to look like Shinichi."

"Hakuba Saguru... that half British guy huh? I remember that prick," Heiji clicked his tongue. "Why is he there? Trying to catch Kid's tail too?"

Ran shrugged. "I think Sonoko mentioned that they are classmates. Hakuba-kun, and Inspector Nakamori's relative. They were wearing the same school uniform."

"I didn't know Hakuba-niichan goes to school here," Conan said. "Which school?"

Ran frowned a little. "Well, I don't know that much..."

Mouri grumbled. "Well, Nakamori lives in Ekoda, so it's probably Ekoda High?"

"Ekoda? Ah...I know that school. Somehow the image of Hakuba-kun wearing gakuran doesn't suit him..." Ran laughed.

Gakuran? Heiji suddenly recalled something.

Gakuran. Someone related to Nakamori. Kudo lookalike.

Heiji suddenly wanted to slap himself for being so careless. Thinking about the Black Org made him almost forgot to tell Kudo about his doppelganger. It didn't help that his mind had decided to not take Sonoko's words seriously due to his firm belief that the right young lady was a drama queen that liked to exaggerate everything.

Someone who looked exactly like Kudo had just been shot right and that same boy was sitting in the same cafe as a member of an organisation that wanted Kudo dead. It could be a coincidence; the bullet could have been aimed for that prick Holmes otaku, but the chance of the organisation trying to get rid of Kudo lookalike because of a stupid misunderstanding wasn't zero.

"Say, how about we tag along, Kazuha?"

Kazuha frowned. "You really love mystery don't you, Heiji?"

Heiji laughed, but he could sense that Conan had already seen through I-definitely-did-not-screw-up-something face.

 

###

SATURDAY, 11.56PM  
TOKYO  
S MUSEUM - T UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL

 

Damn it hurts, Kaito thought as he sailed through the crowd of spectators smoothly with the jewel in his pocket.

Admittedly he had to cancel his original plan to escape via glider, and he had to delay the show by three hours - but at least now that jerk Hakuba would be puzzled with the appearance of Phantom Thief Kid, whom in his mind should be resting in hospital bed now. Good thing the museum curator was a very obese man - all Kaito had to do was stuff as many small pillows he could under multiple layers of clothings and nobody could notice an extra bulge on his tummy that stuffed the treasure. Both tantei-kun and Hakuba were absent for tonight's heist, making his job a lot easier, albeit he missed the challenge.

Well, there was a reason for him to appear despite his injury. He had to know whether the person sending the fake notice was the same person who shot him. If yes, that meant someone had figured out his identity and Kaito could not afford that, not until he found and destroy Pandora. To his disappointment the impostor turned out to be an obsessed fan of Kid who figured he could lure his idol out with a fake heist notice. The guy was already caught after Kaito made sure to leave a cute quick message to Nakamori Ginzo, inside his jacket pocket.

Someone else had shot him as Kuroba Kaito, he thought as he laid down in his hospital bed back, swiftly switching himself back with the dummy. Either the perpetrator knew he was Kid, or he had previously offended a psychopath somehow. Kaito could not recall ever making enemies with anyone as his civilian persona. As Kid? He had a long list of people who'd be glad to put a bullet through his head, starting with Snake, then-

The door opened and Kaito was half expecting either the nurse coming to check his condition or Hakuba rushing to see if he was really there.

He did not expect to see a pair of heterochromatic eyes clad in black garments.

He narrowed his eyes. "Who are you?"

Ice cold stare answered him.

"Cognac."


	5. Second Identities

SUNDAY, 1.30PM  
TOKYO  
T UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL, Seventh Floor

 

"What happened to you?!" 

Ran, Sonoko, Kogoro, Heiji and Conan heard Aoko's shriek from inside the room. The four exchanged curious looks before Sonoko hesitantly knocked the door. The good thing about being the young lady of a conglomerate was that they were given access to the hospital room and permitted to bring more than two people to visit. Kazuha opted to stay outside as she decided it would not be good for the patient to have so many strangers coming for a surprise visit. Ran too, had wanted to stay out but was forced to come along by Sonoko.

It was a good thing that Sonoko had warned her early on about Kuroba Kaito. Ran swore the boy looked exactly like her childhood sweetheart. It took so much effort on her side to not burst out. Even her father and Conan were visibly shocked. The three of them had thought that Sonoko was exaggerating as usual. It was not the first time she had claimed to see Shinichi or any other celebrities lookalikes and half of the time those people only happened to have similar build and hairstyles.

Inside the daughter of the infamous Inspector Nakamori was standing beside the hospital bed, seemingly lecturing her friend. Nakamori Ginzo was there too and he had the same exasperated face as Kaito. Clearly this was something they were too used to.

"Oh hello, Suzuki-san," the girl's demeanor instantly changed as soon as she saw the new visitors. "These people are...?"

"Sorry for the crowd, Inspector Nakamori, Aoko-san," Sonoko said. "I brought some friends. This is Detective Mouri Kogoro, I know the police are already investigating the case but I'm sure with Detective Mouri here we can solve it faster."

"Great!" Aoko beamed.

"Stop it, Aoko. I told you already, I've asked Megure to help out. He's working on it, and that Hakuba boy is helping too," Ginzo gruntled.

Aoko pointed at her childhood friend and only then Ran noticed he had a sour look in his face. "But Dad! Clearly Kaito is being targeted, for whatever reason it is! Someone came and tried to finish the job last night, how can we sit still?"

Heiji's eyes widened. "Holy shit, you're saying someone came? To your room?"

Kaito shrugged and rubbed his shoulder absentmindedly. "She's over-reacting. Last night a drunk guy came in and shook my shoulder. That opened the wound a bit. No big deal."

"No big deal?!!" Aoko shrieked and Ran had to cup her ears a bit. Wow, this girl and the volume of her voice...

Conan raised an eyebrow. "Someone drunk came in? That's all?"

That just sounded suspicious. An unattended drunk guy wandering freely in a hospital wasn't impossible but very unlikely. Conan doubted that someone drunk enough to act aggressively towards an unknown patient would pass through the security at the ground floor all the way to the seventh floor, with nurses and doctors on their night shifts.

There was also something weird about his doppelganger behaving so calm despite being in bed after a gunshot and a re-opened wound. He was just a teenager, supposedly a normal one. Even Ran, who had witnessed so many homicide cases wouldn't be so calm if she had been shot. On the contrary it would be quite normal to be paranoid and over-react, like the girl, Aoko.

"Hey hey, I'm just a normal high school guy - with the exception of my handsome face, sexy brain, and irresistible charm," Kaito laughed. "I can't think of a reason for someone to target me. I'm not rich, and my mum is...oh shit. Did she flirt with another Yakuza?"

Aoko pouted. "Your mom knows better - I think she learned her lesson after the last guy she went on a blind date with turned out to be part of mafias."

No, mafias and yakuzas would not go as far as this, Conan's mind supplied. Especially for such a shallow reason of getting rejected on a blind date. Do mafias and yakuzas even go on blind dates in the first place?

"Anyway, you're making a ruckus, Aoko. I'm sure the famous Detective Mouri has other more important... income-generating cases," Kaito grumbled. "I'll be fine. Occhan, you'll be here to beat up the bad guys if they come, right?"

Ginzo laughed and patted his own chest. "Of course. Leave the bad guys to me!"

Kogoro scowled. "I get your feelings, but you've been in the second division for what, ten years? If it's homicide or attempted murders, Megure and I can do a better job."

That, and Sonoko already offered to pay him a nice sum, Conan silently thought as he shook his head. Seeing that Kogoro was quite eager to take up the job and was even accompanying them to visit the boy, there was a fat chance he had already purchased a couple things with the deposit money. Like lottery tickets or Okino Yoko's limited edition photobooks.

"Can you really not think of anyone grudging on you, nii-chan?" Conan asked.

For a split second Conan swore Kaito gave him a strange look. The teen only laughed.

"I mean, I'm a prankster but I haven't offended anyone greatly. But who knows - it seems like yesterday a crazy Kaitou Kid fan broke into the museum and pretended to be Kid. Maybe somewhere out there, there is someone who looks like me, who has done some menace to some nasty people."

Heiji's eyes twitched. Well that was subtle.

***

SUNDAY, 2.15PM  
TOKYO  
T UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL, Ground Floor

 

"That boy - Kuroba-kun - he really does look like Shinichi," Ran commented. "You'd be surprised if you saw him, Kazuha-chan."

"Really? Even more than the guy we saw at the café?" Kazuha asked.

"The same guy, Kazuha. The Kudo lookalike we saw at the café is the same guy who got shot," Heiji said.

Kazuha seemed amazed. "What a coincidence, huh?"

Probably not a coincidence, Heiji thought. He had blurted out Kudo's name at the very same café where a member of an organisation going for Kudo's head was eating. And that guy Kuroba couldn't be more subtle. He had a nasty mouth, just like the Eastern detective. Still, he could not just jump into conclusion. Like Sonoko had reported, the infamous Hakuba Saguru was also there. Even if he wasn't as famous as Kudo in Japan, his father was an influential figure in the Japanese police force. 

Plus, his connection with Inspector Nakamori. Heiji noticed that Nakamori had signed all the consent forms, and that Kuroba Kaito had none of his family members showing up even though his mother was mentioned in a conversation. Most likely a single mother since she had boyfriends.

"Why is Inspector Nakamori filling in for Kaito-niichan's parents? Does he live with him?" Conan asked. He was just as curious as his Kansai friend.

Ran shrugged. "They are neighbours. Aoko-san told me that Kuroba-kun lost his father when he was only eight years old. His mother then left him with the Nakamori family and went to live in Europe. He lives alone in Japan."

"He lost his dad and his mom decided to bail out just like that? Sounds weird," Heiji commented. "I'm surprised he isn't messed up."

"Most likely thanks to Inspector Nakamori," Ran said.

Heiji hummed. "You don't think he's secretly involved in any shady group? You know how some kids are tricked into working for drug cartels and stuff..."

Conan frowned. Kuroba did not look like he would do that. Or maybe Conan was just being biased because of Kaito's face. Talking about Kaito's face...

Conan was suddenly reminded of a certain phantom thief. Didn't Kaito get shot while he was delivering stuff to Inspector Nakamori? The Inspector Nakamori, who was there to check out the Kaitou Kid's next heist location? And it just so happened that Kuroba's wound reopened the day after Kid's heist.

Suddenly Conan's mind was filled with memories of Kid using Shinichi's face to get into places where his face would be pinched to look for any disguises. Back then Conan had theorised that the only way Kid could do that was that he looked similar enough with Shinichi that he did not require neither face masks nor cosmetics to disguise as him.

It did not make sense for high school student, Kuroba Kaito to be targeted, unless it was indeed the Black Org mistaking him as Kudo Shinichi. But it would make a lot of sense for Kaitou Kid to be targeted and a lot of people would love to have the thief's head.

Conan blinked and shook his head. Did he just....did he just figure out one of the world's biggest mysteries - the true identity of Kaitou Kid?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some facts may be inaccurate. I have no idea whether Chikage just moved out and left her son or she was just going on a long trip, but from all the Magic Kaito episodes and chapters I've read she was never at home. She was never even in Kaito's childhood recollections.
> 
> Kaito seems to hold no grudge against her, though I notice he calls her Chikage-san instead of mother, so I'm guessing while he still treasures his mother, he is not as close to her as he was with his father. Or maybe that's just Chikage's style, who knows. Anyways, in this fic I'm assuming she just moved out and checks on her son once in a while.


	6. Chapter 6

Kaito shut his eyes and forced himself to go to sleep. Five minutes later he groaned as he opened his eyes back.  
SUNDAY, 10.15PM  
TOKYO  
T UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL, Seventh Floor

 

"Cognac," he repeated. "Bunch of alcoholics, they are..."

That was the name of the man from yesterday. The man had fearlessly admitted that he had asked his sniper friend to inflict the injury to Kaito. The young magician recalled encountering someone called Bourbon, who was looking for Sherry. They were all related to that brat.

Kaito had no idea what his doppelganger had gotten himself into but getting shot because the guy thought he was Kudo Shinichi living a second identity was not fun. What puzzled him the most was that the guy purposely showed himself to Kaito, without doing anything to finish the job after 'apologising' to him, because Kaito looked exactly like Shinichi and he was convinced that Kuroba Kaito was a persona Shinichi used to hide his identity.

Kaito had put two and two about his favourite detective quite some time ago although he still had no idea how Shin-chan reverted to a brat. It definitely had something to do with the alcoholic group, though.

He shifted his position and his eyes winced slightly from the pain. He needed a computer, dammit.

He still needed to investigate this 'Jungle' thing Cognac mentioned yesterday.

***

MONDAY, 5.47PM  
TOKYO  
BEIKA, Kudo's Residence

 

"Cognac?" Both Conan and Heiji repeated.

Subaru nodded.

The three of them were hanging out at the Kudo family house (unnecessarily big-ass mansion, as Heiji called it) just to share about Kuroba's case. Conan neglected mentioning the fact that Kuroba might possibly be Kaitou Kid and managed to make Heiji keep his ultimate secret with a kick to his shin.

It just so happened that Okiya too, had news for them - an update from Mizunashi Rena, who was still actively resuming her infiltration work.

"Just last month, Vermouth had introduced them to an additional member, a young man likely in his early twenties codenamed Cognac. He is replacing Sherry as the head of the R&D division," Subaru said. "However, information on him only goes as far as his codename, gender and estimated age."

Conan's heart fluttered with hope. A new head of R&D meant advance in the research, and possible cure for his problem. The organisation would now be actively resuming the drug development and if they play their cards right, they could obtain the data on the drug.

"Well, there must be a way we can lure him out," Conan said. "A scientist....right, a scientist needs a lab. There should be an establishment with newly opened research facilities, or at least new staff members."

Subaru nodded. "We have done our research, of course. There is no newly opened research lab for the past month, but there are research facilities with new staff and establishments that order new equipments. There are only five of such, so it should take no time to investigate."

Subaru laid down five sheets on the coffee table for the two detectives to see.

"Out of these five, two are newly established - so of course, most of the staff are new as well. Minus female staff and staff over the age of 35, we are left with ten young chemists who likely fit the description of Cognac," Conan uttered as he skimmed through the papers.

The door rang and all three males were almost startled. Almost everyone knew that the Kudo mansion had long been unoccupied and Subaru could not think of anyone who would come to visit him. Well, there were his 'lovers' who would love to see him but they were not the type to knock or ring the bell.

Nevertheless, he went to answer the door, only to be surprised to see Mouri Ran standing there, with a sobbing teenage girl.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" He asked.

"Is Conan-kun and Hattori-kun here?" Ran asked worriedly. "Aoko-san came to the agency, but my dad is out. Kuroba-kun - he escaped from the hospital and hasn't returned."

***

MONDAY, 5.20PM  
TOKYO  
ABANDONED FACTORY

 

Snake was dead.

Kaito could not accept that.

He stood, dressed in dark jeans and black hoodie, before what was left of the man. The flour mill had been burned to the ground - the work of a random arsonist who was arrested already. But Kaito knew that was not the case.

His hands clenched the morning paper, displaying the faces of the 'unfortunate factory workers' who had perished in the fire. Hakamada Jirou - that was his real name. To think that the murderer escapes punishment, and died with an obituary filled with respectable words was unforgivable. He wanted Snake to be exposed of his crimes, to rot in jail. Dying in a fire was letting him off easy.

Kaito knelt and let out a sob he had kept inside for years. He bit his lower lip. He had now lost one track. Unless he could find the guy who did this.

Someone who wanted Jungle to be wiped out must be responsible for this. He had to look for Cognac. Brushing the dirt off his pants, he walked away.


	7. Lies

MONDAY, 6.06PM  
TOKYO  
BEIKA, Kudo's Residence

 

The nurse had already notified Inspector Nakamori about Kaito's sudden disappearance. There was nothing wrong with the boy that afternoon - she had came to give him his usual dose of medications and he had flirted with her as usual (Conan rolled his eyes at that but Nakamori's absence of reaction indicated that it was not unusual). Kaito was last reported having lunch alone while watching the TV after the nurse left him.

Ginzo had been saddled with another theft case, and so Aoko had turned to Ran. She sobbingly explained that none of their friends had been in contact with Kaito, although Hakuba and a classmate she referred as Akako-chan promised to help.

Heiji glanced at his watch. "It's only been around five hours since then. You're sure he hasn't gone home?"

"I live next door to him. Besides, while would he go home when he's not fully healed yet? His wound just reopened yesterday!" Aoko argued. "Kaito may be a prankster, but he's responsible. He always fulfill his promises, he never lies. No matter for what stupid reasons, if I ask him to come he'd always show up."

Heiji waved his hand. "Alright, alright, I get it. Heh, in short he'd never do something his girl doesn't like, so him disappearing without notifying you is-"

Aoko blushed. "I'm not his girlfriend!"

Ran cleared her throat. "Get to the point, Hattori-kun. Aoko-san is worried. We are talking about someone who just got shot few days ago."

Conan sighed. "Aoko-neechan, did Kaito-niichan mention anything to you during these four days? Anything that he usually doesn't talk about?"

Aoko rubbed her eyes and frowned as she tried to recall anything peculiar. Nothing came to her mind. Their conversation during his stay was more or less the same as their daily chats.

"Nothing."

Subaru hummed. "Not even about the shooting?"

Aoko blinked. "Huh?"

"Didn't he ever wonder about who shot him? Or show concern for your friend, who was also standing close to him during the incident?" Subaru questioned.

Aoko slowly shook her head. "Well, now that you mention that...he hasn't touched about that topic at all. Other than the time Detective Mouri and others came to visit him."

Subaru smirked slightly. "Oh? Not a slight interest, despite everything. It's not normal for high school boys to get shot, you know - and from a long range sniper attack. Yet, he's not a bit disturbed by that, almost as if he is used to that."

Aoko scowled. "What do you mean by that?"

Good thing Conan was not the only one who noticed that. If one of Shinichi's football teammates had survived a gunshot, he was hundred percent sure they would either be terrified for life or upload a photo of their scar on Twitter and Instagram and whatever social media they could get viral on.

"Based on what these boys have told me, your friend just got shot in a place supposedly secure, by a sniper. Then a drunkard went into his room and he sounds like he's hardly fazed by these events. He must be a very peculiar one," Subaru elaborated.

"Well, Kaito has always been fearless for the most part. He's a magician so he's used to getting injured while practicing new stunts. He doesn't talk about things that don't interest or concern him," Aoko said.

As she said that, Conan could see from her face that she too, had finally realized that there was indeed something wrong with not being concerned of one own's safety.

"I'm also interested in this drunkard you mentioned. Was a drunkard really there? Any traces of alcoholic drinks left?" Subaru questioned again.

Aoko's face was red. "Are you suggesting that Kaito is lying? Why would he lie?"

"I've been wondering too. A drunkard got in. How did he got out? Did the nurses escort him out?" Heiji asked.

The Ekoda High student remained silent for a moment. It was clear that she had blindly trusted her childhood friend and neglected to ask questions. She shook her head. "I don't know. When I noticed his wound had reopened, I was just... mad, and scared. He said, it was just a drunkard. As soon as he told the guy there was no alcohol around, he went home. I did not see any bottles or cans, nor do I smell alcohol. But the smell of antiseptic and sanitiser is pretty strong, I doubt a drunkard can leave his traces there."

"Did the nurses say anything?"

Aoko shook her head. "Nurses said they did not see anyone suspicious. There are cameras at the corridor, but there was a security system maintenance that night, and the camera at the corridor was shut for a full hour."

The three men glanced at each other. Even Ran looked uneasy. At this point it was a wonder how Nakamori Ginzo did not sense everything wrong with this scenario. Subaru hummed, then smiled.

"May I suggest something?"


	8. Names

WEDNESDAY, 11.40PM  
TOKYO  
SHIBUYA, The Zoo Night Club

 

This turns out to be more dangerous than I thought, Kaito thought to himself silently as he listened in to the conversation. The space in between the second floor and the ceiling was designed not for humans to crawl in other than to fix the lights or air conditioner and ventilation but on the dance floor he would not be able to listen while observing the night club at the same time. All the visitors of the club were going crazy and Kaito suspected it was the result of alcohol plus the pills distributed not so discreetly by a shady looking guy.

It took him two and a half days and enduring 42 missed calls from Aoko, but he was sure his mother would deal with it if the girl suddenly decided to call the police to look for him. He had managed to track down the identity of Cognac - by hacking through surveillance cameras of several universities in Tokyo. Good thing he had had a good look at the guy that night, and it wasn't too difficult to search for a young man with such unique feature.

It did not surprise him that the guy was a chemist. He had pieced up the names and facts he already gathered - Cognac, Sherry, Bourbon, organisation - and what do you know, hacking through the FBI files and nearly getting discovered was so worth it. Good thing he had decided to use the PC from a rundown internet cafe without any CCTV, and even put on an elaborate disguise. That internet cafe was probably being investigated by FBI by now. At least hacking Jungle's computers was not as hard, and they actually had more data on Cognac's group of friends than the FBI. 

They had no data on Cognac other than his name, which meant he was likely a new member of the group. Kaito however, had found more details on the man through the deep web. What surprised Kaito the most was to see Chris Vineyard, the daughter of his father's student, Sharon Vineyard. He had met both Sharon and Fujimine Yukiko before (now Kudo Yukiko), and Sharon especially was quite fond of him. He wondered if the retired actress knew her only daughter was now a criminal.

The group had no connection to Snake, except that Kaito suspected they may be responsible with his death. The group possessed some good amount of firearms and explosives, even the military grade ones.

~"Sorry, I thought you were Kudo. Then surely... I can find Sherry, and eliminate Jungle."~

Those were his exact words. Kaito sensed something odd when he used the English word for 'jungle'. His investigations revealed that Jungle is an organisation mainly involved in smuggling precious gems. The top executives are codenamed by animals.

Snake, Kaito thought as soon as he read the files. While codenames of their top members have been discovered, the police and FBI had little success arresting them. Even when arrested, members would soon be acquitted due to the influence of their leader, Wang-Ke.

The name had instantly rang a bell in Kaito's memory. Wang-Ke was well-known in the shady part of Japan (Kaito himself actually being a criminal was familiar with it too). He was a member of a Chinese triad and was known to hold the reins of the police force - keeping a couple of corrupted officers to bail his men out whenever needed. It explained why security at his nightclub was quite lax compared to Kaito's expectation. The man was so powerful, that he expected people to cower before him. He probably wouldn't think a disoriented college student accidentally bumping into his man was a phantom thief in disguise planting a listening device.

Kaito scowled. They were speaking in Chinese, and while his Mandarin was good enough, his Cantonese was not. Fortunately he was able to catch several words, enough to make a guess of what they were talking about. Unfortunately, seventy percent of the conversation was not very useful, as it was just Wang-Ke talking about several girls dancing in the club whom he found was to his liking.

Thirty percent of it was good stuff. The whole instruction was not clear, but Kaito could understand from pieces of what he heard that the Chinese man was ordering his lackeys to retaliate against the enemy who killed Snake and Bear. Apparently Jungle too, was aware of the existence of new member, although rather than eliminating him the order sounded like the man wanted to capture Cognac alive.

Huh. So another agent had actually died with Snake in that explosion, an agent he did not know.

Kaito's ears managed to capture three more names. Gin. Vodka. Chianti. Porsche, black. Huh, the boss who created the group really loved alcohols. Gin and Vodka, from what Kaito had gathered were like faces of the group. Chianti was the sniper, and perhaps the one who shot him too.

A turf war was starting and Kaito knew he had to approach Cognac as soon as possible. He could always disguise as another student attending the same university as Cognac. Based on Cognac's action, he was most likely a normal guy who got roped into joining the organisation for some reason. The way he nonchalantly waltzed into the hospital undisguised and revealed himself was almost as if he wanted to get caught as soon as possible. Kaito had to get hold of him before either the police or Jungle could.

He packed up everything and returned to the rooftop. He felt the vibration in his pants pocket and finally decided to answer the first phone call in almost three days from Aoko after much contemplation.

"Hello Aoko?" 

There was a chuckle from the other side of the line that was definitely not Aoko.

"Sorry, I'm not Aoko. I'm Rye, and you should probably come before your friend really turns blue."

The call was cut off.

Rye. Rye. Rye?

Gin. Vodka. Chianti. Bourbon. Cognac. Rye. A guy with the name of an alcoholic drink just called him using Aoko's phone.

Oh shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Zoo is just the name of a night club near my place. Wasn't intended for pun.
> 
> Honestly I think if a Japanese person hears Rye, it would sound like Rai, a real name. Not something people would be weirded about. But hey this is a fic, and anime logic works in a different way. That's why Conan is still 7 even though I started reading when I was in elementary school and now I'm a grown up adult. Will Conan ever grow up? Will the manga ever progress to a satisfactory ending? Find out in the next episode of Dragon Ball Z!


	9. Caught

THURSDAY, 12. 15AM  
TOKYO  
BEIKA HOTEL, Rooftop

Pokerface be damned.

For a moment Kaito's heart stopped beating. Rye gave him an address and without even thinking his feet began to move towards the destination as instructed by Rye. He did not even bother to consider the fact that Rye, who most likely was part of the alcoholic bad guys could be luring him into a trap. 

Nothing else was important, not when Aoko was in danger.

Halfway he wondered if he should bring a gun. He stopped by his house, picked up the gun his mother hid in her bedroom, and prayed he won't need to use it.

He arrived at the meeting place - rooftop of Beika Hotel. No disguise needed, as the perpetrator had called his personal phone using Aoko's, although he opted to hide his face under the black cap and hoodie. A man, appearing to be in his early thirties was waiting there. He had dark hair, was wearing a beanie with turtleneck, and was putting on a smug smile that Kaito really hated.

"Well hello there," Kaito said with gritted teeth. He was never fond of shooting any living beings but his gun was safely tucked inside his leather jacket, ready to be pulled out anytime. He couldn't spare any sentiment when dealing with murderers and high profile criminals. This guy looked like he had killed before.

"Don't make such a scary face," the man smirked. "It surprises me that you'd go to this extent for her. Love is a wonder, isn't it?"

Kaito did not reply.

"You, a high school boy who is not supposed to know anything about...this, had come here running. Most people would take the words I said as joke. You didn't even ask what I meant when I introduced myself as Rye. How much do you know?" He asked.

Kaito raised an eyebrow. "Am I obliged to tell you?"

Rye smiled. "Yes, you are, actually. You see, I'm an FBI agent," he said, and pulled out his identification from his jeans pocket.

"... So not just the Japanese police, you even have moles in the FBI. Amazing, but I should expect that," Kaito let out an amused chuckle to hide his anger. "Not even Wang-Ke can reach that level. I can see why he feels threatened."

Rye's smile faltered. "Really?"

Kaito scowled. "You haven't told me where she is yet."

Rye laughed. "Don't worry, your girl is at home. Safe and sound."

"Until when?" Kaito questioned.

"Until you open your mouth."

"I know this is cliché, but I have no plans of busting you guys, so let's leave it at that, shall we?" Kaito suggested.

"That's what everyone says. To what extent do you know then?" Rye asked.

"No more than what the FBI already did, which is not much," Kaito admitted.

Rye nodded. "I see. Well then, from your statement can I deduce that you do know something the FBI doesn't know, albeit not much in details, and that most of the information you received was by hacking the files?"

He did not answer. Rye clapped his hands. "Very impressive I must say, especially for a seventeen-year-old. Don't you think so, Jodie, Camel?"

A tall, buff man in suit and a blonde woman with glasses appeared from behind him. He turned around, and his eyes widened as they both displayed their FBI IDs.

One spy was common. Three spies revealing their identities?

He groaned. "... You guys are real agents."

Shit. How did he get caught? Why did they have Aoko's phone? The only obvious reason he could think of was that Aoko herself had given her phone to set up the trap. But how in the world did she get FBI agents to look for one missing high school kid? 

Jodie laughed. "I haven't seen a kid this brilliant since my favourite Cool Kid. How on earth did you get through FBI security?"

She held him in a playful headchoke and even ruffled his already messy hair. Kaito felt like he was in a dream. Specifically, a nightmare. He'd never thought he'd be arrested this way. He pushed her away and she only laughed harder.

Oh well, at least Aoko was safe. Although he was now in danger of being imprisoned rather than shot to death. Wouldn't Hakuba feel devastated if Kuroba Kaito was caught for hacking the FBI and Japanese police files instead of trespassing and stealing gems?

"Really, Akai-san, I don't know how you managed to keep a cool face despite all that," Camel said. "This kid looks like he's ready to shoot you."

"Ah well, he reminds me of someone. Anyway Kuroba Kaito-kun, I hate to say this but we are the FBI, and we are now detaining you for hacking our database. You can take out the things in your pockets and surrender willingly or there will be additional charges for refusal to be compliant, not to mention possession of weapons," Akai said.

Kaito slowly, very slowly inserted his hands into his jeans pocket and tried weighing his options. He had not yet accomplished his goals but the FBI agents were no Nakamori or second division cops that he could fool. Even if he escaped now, there was no telling when they would raid his house in his absence and discover all the stuff hidden. Particularly his father's...ehem, heirloom (the secret room that was worth more than Batman's Batmobile). He silently cursed himself for being too impatient and emotional. 

Damn it. Why are you like this, Kaito? It's just stupid Aoko. You just exposed yourself for a fake threat on Aoko.

"No tricks there or I will have to pull the trigger, unfortunately," Akai warned.

Kaito rolled his eyes. "Doesn't sound much like an FBI agent."

"You're a high school kid who just got shot but showed no trauma, ran out of the hospital with an injury, hacked through top security files and even took precautionary measures to avoid captures. If it wasn't because I was informed of your strange behaviour, I wouldn't put the timing of your disappearance and the security infiltration together. So yes, I need to be cautious when it comes to you."

FBI. Jungle. Cognac. Kaito wondered if they held more information. Okay, did he really have an option when there was a freaking gun pointed at him? Two guns and a Frankenstein monster, actually?

Kaito put his hands up and grinned. "Is there going to be katsudon, at least?"

He decided to play along for a while.


	10. Chapter 10

FRIDAY, 8.10AM  
TOKYO  
EKODA HIGH, Homeroom

 

"FBI?" Saguru uttered with shock laced in his voice. "How? Why does the FBI get to hold him? It's not their case."

"He's not Kaitou Kid, Hakuba-kun. He wasn't arrested. Dad said he's being held as a witness. The details are confidential, but they have confirmed that he's alive and well," Aoko said.

Kuroba Kaito being held as a witness was not a scenario Saguru ever pictured in his mind. However, he reminded himself that it could be that the FBI wanted to keep Kaito's alter ego an international secret and had to make up a story to explain his disappearance.

"It might have something to do with that drunkard. After I told Ran-chan about the drunkard who got into Kaito's room, Okiya-san had borrowed my phone for two days, then told me the case was solved."

"Wait, who is Okiya-san?"

"Ran-chan's friend? When I asked for Ran-chan's help she brought me to her boyfriend's house. There's a guy named Okiya who looks after the house. She said the owners of the house, Kudo Shinichi is out for a case investigation and his parents live in America."

Saguru frowned as his mind began putting the pieces together. So a guy named Okiya, who was acquainted with the infamous Kudo very well enough that he was allowed to look after their house had figured out the mystery behind Kuroba's disappearance. Then all of sudden Kuroba was now with the FBI. The only reasonable explanation Saguru could come up with was that this Okiya was related to the FBI.

"Has Kuroba contacted you?"

Aoko shook her head sadly. "Not even a text."

Saguru sighed and wondered what the magician was doing.

***

FRIDAY, 9.12AM  
Location Undisclosed

 

Kaito tapped his fingers impatiently.

It did not matter how many lie detectors and interrogation they were going to put him through. He could tell the lie detectors that he had boobs and uterus and the stupid machine would accept it as truth. The interrogation did scare him a little but it was nothing he wasn't prepared for. Camel had put on his scariest face and Kaito retorted with his silliest face ever.

The loneliness did do well to drive him nuts, though. Akai decided the smartest way was to look through his phone and Kaito promptly flushed his cellphone down the toilet bowl with an innocent face before they could do that. He did not mind being confined but getting Jii dragged to his trouble was the last thing he wanted. Now he regretted it a bit since he could neither read the news nor play Candy Crush to pass time.

By now Kaito could gather based on their behaviour that he had the upper hand when it came to information. Otherwise there was no reason for the FBI to detain him solely for questionings, all pertaining to activities non-related to Kaitou Kid. It was safe to say that they still had no clue about his second persona. Otherwise...

Akai entered the room and Kaito grinned.

"Well hello, Mr. Proper Adult. When you told me I'd be investigated properly I didn't think it'd be a nonstop interrogation handcuffed. You sure are living your kinks," he smiled sweetly.

"Sorry, but criminals don't get to choose. At least we got you your katsudon, didn't we?"

"I suppose you did."

"Why did you escape the hospital?"

"To find a PC?"

Akai eyes him intensely. He dropped a couple of printed news articles on the table. "According to the nurse in charge, the last time you were seen was during lunch time, while you were watching TV. Fortunately the hospital offers very few selection of channels and only two channels were airing the news. I've taken the liberty to print out the featured news for you."

Kaito's eyes darted at the stack of printed articles. There, among them, as if mocking him was the arsonist article. More specifically, the planned murder disguised as an arson case article. 

"Something must have triggered you to suddenly leave the hospital. It couldn't be that Cognac is in one of these articles, right?"

Kaito shrugged. "Close enough."

"You do not deny that you know Cognac, has seen his face and possibly spoken to him. I cannot understand the motive behind keeping silent about your encounter."

"I'd like to keep my rendezvous secret," he replied with a playful wink.

"Smart mouth. Which one?" Akai had painfully picked up the exact article on Snake. "Your eyes had landed on this particular one, out of all the articles. Someone you know here?"

Kaito shrugged. Akai raised an eyebrow and scanned through the article. Nothing new here. A serial arsonist was arrested for setting a flour mill on fire, killing three of the night shift workers. All three were middle-aged man and the arsonist himself was a man in his late thirties. All of them hardly fit the description for Cognac.

"My dad died the same way." In a fire, a premeditated murder by an organisation disguised as something else. "It just reminded me of him."

Akai had read the file. Kuroba Touichi was one of Japan's, if not the most talented magicians at the time of his unfortunate death. A mishap in the equipment had resulted in an explosion. It must have been traumatic for a boy as young as Kaito.

Akai squinted his eyes. He glanced at the boy, then at the article.

Explosion and arson were two different things. Sure, both ended up with smokes and fire but they were not the same. 

Akai left the room and watched from the CCTV as Kaito ripped and shredded the papers apart with cold eyes. No matter how much of a pokerface the boy tried to put on, ultimately he was still a teenage boy with emotions. It would be interesting to observe him more.


End file.
